Healthy strawberry tart

The 5-ingredient healthy strawberry tart for a guilt-free summer dessert

With a crisp crust filled with a fragrant, mousse-like cream, your guests will be stunned to learn that this impressive-looking strawberry tart is made with only five ingredients, requires only 10 minutes prep, and is actually a wholesome treat. Perfect for warm weather, this healthy strawberry dessert provides the ideal finish to a long lunch, especially for people who have decided to make healthier food choices, yet still want to enjoy a sweet and creamy tart.

What’s so good about this strawberry tart recipe?

Hearty rolled oats make a healthy tart base for all kinds of structured desserts, including pies and cheesecakes. Rolled oats have a better nutritional profile than their “quick oats” counterpart as they are less processed. When blitzed in the blender they become a protein-rich flour that’s high in beta-glucan – a fibre that helps lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Sugar-free maple syrup is made with natural sweeteners like sorbitol and monk fruit rather than refined sugar. It’s a great sub for butter or shortening to make a healthy tart crust. Cottage cheese is a low kilojoule and low-GI curd cheese with a neutral taste that soaks up the sweet flavour of the strawberries for an ultra-creamy and healthy tart filling. Strawberries, even the frozen kind, are a nutritional powerhouse. They’re low GI and are a good source of folate, dietary fibre and potassium. One serve (about eight strawberries) contains more vitamin C than an orange!

When are strawberries in season?

Although seen as a summer berry, strawberries actually have two seasons. As well as October to January, they also peak from April through to July in subtropical areas. While this chilled strawberry tart may be a warm-weather dessert, you can eat it in the cooler months or use the cheaper in-season strawberries in winter to make a healthy crumble. Perfectly ripe berries should be uniformly red. If the tops are white, they’re not ripe yet and if the calyx (the green frilly top of the berry) is withered and their texture is soft, they are overripe. Our tart uses blitzed frozen strawberries (picked at their best and frozen to retain quality) as the filling, and fresh strawbs as garnish to pack in the goodness and take full advantage of this wonderful berry.

How to serve our healthy berry tart

We use a fluted tart tin with a removable base to make this strawberry tart. To remove the tart from the tin, place an upturned bowl on the bench, place the tart tin on top, then gently push down the sides. Your sweet and healthy fruit tart can now be transferred to a plate and served. To cut, use a long, sharp knife and wipe with a damp towel between slices. As a bonus hack, pop this tart in the freezer to firm up first for cleaner cuts. The knife needs to be sharp to cleave through the base without crumbling it.

Enjoy this tart for dessert on its own or with a cheeky scoop of ice cream. A refreshing coconut and mango would complement the sweetness well, or go for something more tangy like passionfruit. You could also top this tart with raspberries, blackberries or blueberries, edible flowers or mint springs, or with crushed nuts like pistachios, macadamias, or almonds.